TechNews - Intel Unveils the Nervana - tech(hx) 06:15 AM EDT - Oct,29 2017
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Intel Unveils the Nervana Neural Network Processor - Intel
on Tuesday is taking the wraps off of the Nervana
Neural Network Processor (NNP), formerly known as "Lake Crest," a
chip three years in the making that's designed expressly for AI and
deep learning. Along with explaining its unique architecture, Intel
announced that Facebook has been a close collaborator as it prepares to
bring the Nervana NNP to market. The chipmaker also laid out the
beginnings of a product roadmap. The Intel Nervana NNP promises to
revolutionize AI computing across myriad industries. Using Intel
Nervana technology, companies will be able to develop entirely new
classes of AI applications that maximize the amount of data processed
and enable customers to find greater insights -- transforming their
businesses. We have multiple generations of Intel Nervana NNP products
in the pipeline that will deliver higher performance and enable new
levels of scalability for AI models. This puts us on track to exceed
the goal we set last year of achieving 100 times greater AI performance
by 2020.

Dell Inspiron 13 7000 2-in-1 Review - Aside from Intel's
latest Core i5 or i7 CPUs, this Inspiron 13
convertible packs 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD as standard, along
with a
13.3-inch 1080p touchscreen display. Upgrading to more powerful
processors, more storage and more memory is all relatively affordable
as well, while the base model’s $879.99 price seems respectable for
what you get. It’s especially nice that this laptop – unlike the XPS 13
– doesn’t fall into the trap of providing just 4GB of RAM and a 128GB
SSD in its low-priced base model.

Kaspersky Says NSA Employee Used Backdoored MS Office Key Gen
- Iain Thomson at Theregister discusses a report from Kaspersky
that details how hackers could have stolen powerful and highly
confidential software exploits from an NSA employee's Windows PC.
According to the report, the NSA employee downloaded a backdoored MS
Office key gen and Office ISO. He disabled Kaspersky AV so he could run
the key gen and then reenabled the AV. Upon the next scan of the AV it
noticed some interesting code and phoned it back home. This is how Kaspersky
says they gained knowledge/possession of the NSA classified code.
All in all this is getting more interesting all the time.

Any iPhone App with Camera Permission Can Secretly Record You
-
Google engineer Felix Krause has detailed an alarming
privacy setting
in Apple's iOS that enables iPhone apps with camera permission to
surreptitiously take photos and videos of you -- without your
knowledge. All of this without any notice or indication that your
iPhone is snapping images of your face. No sound, no light, no LEDs.

The New York Times Is Now Available as a Tor Onion Service - The NYT is experimenting with secure communication by
making their website available as a Tor Onion Service. They explain
that some readers use Tor because their access is technically blocked,
or because they worry about local network monitoring or online privacy,
so they are making their website accessible via a special, secure, and hard-to-block VPN-like "tunnel"
through the Tor network.

Hackers Distribute Malware-Infected Media Player to Hundreds
of Mac - ESET
researchers noticed that Eltima, the makers of Elmedia Player, have
been distributing a version of their application trojanized with the
OSX/Proton malware on their official website. Anyone who downloaded
Elmedia Player or Folx software recently should verify if their system
is compromised by testing for the presence of certain files and
directories. If you have downloaded that software on October 19th
before 3:15pm EDT and run it, you are likely compromised. As far as we
know, only the version downloaded from the Eltima website contains the
trojanized application. The built-in automatic update mechanism seems
unaffected. OSX/Proton is a backdoor with extensive data stealing
capabilities. It gains persistence on the system and can steal OS
details, browser information, cryptocurrency wallets, and more.

Total Commander 9.10 - support for Windows 10 Fall Creators
Update - Total
Commander is regarded by many as the best replacement for Windows
Explorer. Its latest release, version 9.10, looks to further solidify
that status with various improvements, support for the Windows 10's
Fall Creators Update and support for multiple screens with different
DPIs per screen

Google to Rely On Software to Tweak Pixel 2 XL Screen - Google
says it will update both the Pixel 2 XL and Pixel 2 smartphones in
the coming weeks to resolve various issues spotted by early adopters.
Starting with the Pixel 2 XL, Google says it will give users more
options to tweak the screen's color through a tool added to the display
settings. The smaller Pixel 2 will get its own software patch, though
this one targets a clicking
sound in the earpiece reported by some customers.

Google Pixel Phones Have Hidden Image Processor - Google
today revealed the Pixel Visual Core, a custom-designed
co-processor that is built into every Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL
smartphone. The Image Processing Unit has eight cores, each with 512
arithmetic logic units (ALUs) that can handle some three trillion
calculations per second. Google claims the Pixel Visual Core with HDR+
can run five times faster and at less than one-tenth the energy than
running directly on the application processor. The Pixel Visual Core is
laying dormant for the time being, but Google says it will turn the
co-processor on soon. Google created advanced software to manage the
Pixel's ability to capture rich photos and it wants to extend that to
other photo apps. The Pixel Visual Core will eventually allow
third-party apps to use the Pixel's HDR+ technology. Google plans to
enable the Pixel Visual Core as a developer option in the developer
preview of Android Oreo 8.1 (MR1) in the coming weeks. Later, Google
will let third-party camera apps access it using the Android Camera
API, giving them access to the Pixel 2's HDR+ technology. The end
result should be much better photos on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL when
using photo apps other than the stock camera.

Google Testing 3rd-Party Email Access in iOS Gmail App - Google is
allowing people to use their non-Gmail email service within the
Gmail app for iOS. Apple's own iOS email app and Microsoft's Outlook
email app both already support multiple email services, as does Gmail
on Android handsets. This will be the first time Google has brought the
feature to its iOS Gmail app. Those interested in testing the feature
can sign up with Google to take the beta app for a spin. The beta app
will be distributed through TestFlight, rather than the iTunes App
Store. Google hasn't said how long the feature might be in testing
before it reaches final form.

Samsung Says Bixby 2.0 to Be Open and Ubiquitous - Samsung
has announced a major update to its Bixby personal assistant
service. Samsung calls Bixby 2.0 a "bold reinvention" of the platform
that will be available not only on phones, but other smart devices,
such as TVs, refrigerators, and speakers. Bixby 2.0 will feature
enhanced natural language processing for more natural commands and
feedback. The assistant will be able to differentiate between multiple
users' voices as well as their individual preferences and settings.
Moreover, Samsung is opening Bixby up to third-party app developers.
The company has made a private beta of the Bixby SDK available to
select developers to test the platform and explore how it can be put to
work in sports, food, entertainment, travel, and other apps. Samsung
will slowly allow more developers to access Bixby over time and
eventually expects to make the Bixby SDK available to all developers.

Samsung Embraces Google's ARCore for Augmented Reality - Samsung
has said it will work with Google to bring Google's ARCore
augmented reality content to a wider range of its smartphones,
including the Galaxy S8, S8+, and Note8. Using the ARCore SDK,
developers will be able to create augmented reality experiences for
millions of Galaxy handsets. Google announced ARCore in August. The
effort will see less-demanding hardware requirements for running AR
apps on Android devices, expanding AR's reach to some 100 million phones

Google Releases Android 8.1 Developer Preview - Google
has made the first developer preview of Android
8.1 Oreo available to app writers and beta testers. This update to
Android is anything but minor, as it includes a significant number of
under-the-hood changes. First up is the Neural Networks API, which lets
apps take advantage of hardware acceleration for on-device machine
learning operations. Android 8.1 makes changes to notifications. For
example, apps can now only make a notification alert sound once per
second. Android 8.1 helps developers target low-RAM devices through two
new hardware features that let them split their APK into versions for
normal and memory-constrained handsets.

Amazon Introduces "Amazon Key" In Home Delivery - The new
service exclusively for Prime members requires the Amazon Cloud
Cam, and a smart lock for your front door. Amazon states "Each time a
delivery driver requests access to a customer's home, Amazon verifies
that the correct driver is at the right address, at the intended time,
through an encrypted authentication process. Once this process is
successfully completed, Amazon Cloud Cam starts recording and the door
is then unlocked." Prime members can pre-order the Amazon Key In-Home
Kit for $249.99 if you're in one of the 37 launch cities.

Facebook Messenger Adds PayPal as Funding Source - Facebook
Messenger and PayPal today made it possible for people to use their
PayPal account as a source of funds when paying friends and family.
Facebook Messenger has supported P2P payments for some time now, but
previously required people to rely on their debit card for funds.
Moving forward, Messenger users can take advantage of PayPal if they
wish. A blue plus icon appears in the Messenger app that takes them to
the payments tool. Once added to the app, PayPal will appear as an
option when paying friends or family. PayPal integration with Facebook
Messenger is rolling out to U.S. users starting today. PayPal also
announced a new customer service bot for Messenger. PayPal customers
can access and interact with the bot via Messenger to help with
customer service, such as resetting passwords or handing account
inquiries. The PayPal bot can easily be found via the Messenger search
field

Bloodhound, a car designed to hit 1000mph, take place today - On
October 15, 1997, British Wing Commander Andy Green set the current
land speed record when he reached 760mph in ThrustSSC. Over 20 years
later, he will be making the first public tests of a car designed to go
over 1000mph. You can watch the event via the livestream video below.
On a runway at Newquay airport, UK, Green and his team will be putting
the Bloodhound SSC through initial slow-speed trials in preparation for
a new attempt at a land speed record in 2019. The last record was set
in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, but this next run will take place on a
specially prepared 11-mile track in a dried-out lakebed at Hakskeen
Pan, South Africa. It's hoped that the car will initially break the
800mph barrier, before ultimately reaching the goal of 1000mph.

A drone for last-centimeter delivery - A new drone
developed at EPFL uses cutting-edge technology to deliver parcels
weighing up to 500 grams. The device will never get stuck in traffic,
it's programmed to avoid obstacles, and it can reach destinations on
steep or uneven terrain. Its protective cage and foldable design mean
that it can be carried around in a backpack and used in total safety.

New Bright Trailer: Orcs, Fairies and Crime in Upcoming
Netflix Film - Humans, Orcs, Elves... everybody is just trying to
get along. Get
ready for the world of Bright, a new Netflix Original Film,
starring Will Smith and Joel Edgerton. Coming to Netflix December 22nd.

JJ Abrams Teases Star Wars: Episode 9 Story - Star Wars:
The Last Jedi isn't even in theaters yet, but already Episode IX
director JJ
Abrams is giving some hints about his next installment in the
franchise. Abrams was hired to helm the ninth film in the Star Wars
saga in September, after it was announced director Colin Trevorrow had
left the project.
As he works on the movie's script, along with co-writer Chris Terrio
(Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice), Abrams doesn't want the film to
live in the past. Instead, he's looking to the future. Given that
Disney, the studio behind Star Wars, will no doubt be continuing the
franchise, that makes perfect sense.

Taylor Swift - ...Ready For It? - Here's
Taylor Swift's new music video. It's got some kind of weird sci-fi
vibe, which I'm sure will do the trick for all you nerds out there. For
the rest of you, feel free to just fast-forward until you get to the
good part: Taylor in that bodysuit! :P